Rangergord
Songster
It’s now summer and the 26 chicks I started with on April 28 are now 10 weeks of age. I am glad I did not order them any earlier as it was a late, cool spring. I used an Ohio brooder and it really did an excellent job of keeping the chicks warm and comfortable. By mid June it was warm enough and they were feathered enough to go out side the coop.
I am very pleased with these Red Rock Cross BSL pullets. They eat just a bit more than Red Sex Links according to the feed tables. I really like the feather color soft black, and red with a blue green sheen. If it’s a bit cool, but sunny they can sit in the sun and warm up quickly as their black feathers absorb solar radiation easily. Might be a problem in a hot climate but here in the north it’s a big benefit!
My birds are very quiet and well mannered . They prefer not to be caught but will cuddle into your arm nicely if you insist. I have enjoyed taking care of them. I now have 23 down from 25 because they escaped from the fenced run by climbing up on some pallets beside the fence and flying the coop. There were 10 that stayed behind to be discovered by me about an hour or so later when I returned from lunch. There were magpies cawing in the woods beside the coop. I grabbed a machete and leaped into the jungle like growth of the forest. I found a couple hens hiding under logs on the ground. Black chickens are very hard to see in shady forest! Then I found feathers...aaagh! At least one had been killed. Had the magpies killed it or just scavenged the remains. I saw a fox in the yard the previous day and a bear had passed by the day before that. Lots of potential culprits but I still don’t know who was responsible.
Well I did not run across any more hens after walking my entire five acres and notifying the neighbors. So I went back to the coop to work on securing the fence. It’s now 7 feet high and the problem solved. Over the next 36 hours, 13 of the 15 escapees returned one by one to stand outside the fence and begged to be let back inside. They still made me chase them down to be caught and placed back inside the run. They were very happy to be reunited. The woods looked so inviting but it turned into a quick death and there was no grain out there. I think they quickly realized things were a lot better.in the coop than out in the woods. Definitely I realized that my woods are not ideal for free ranging and that’s they way it is.
I am very pleased with these Red Rock Cross BSL pullets. They eat just a bit more than Red Sex Links according to the feed tables. I really like the feather color soft black, and red with a blue green sheen. If it’s a bit cool, but sunny they can sit in the sun and warm up quickly as their black feathers absorb solar radiation easily. Might be a problem in a hot climate but here in the north it’s a big benefit!
My birds are very quiet and well mannered . They prefer not to be caught but will cuddle into your arm nicely if you insist. I have enjoyed taking care of them. I now have 23 down from 25 because they escaped from the fenced run by climbing up on some pallets beside the fence and flying the coop. There were 10 that stayed behind to be discovered by me about an hour or so later when I returned from lunch. There were magpies cawing in the woods beside the coop. I grabbed a machete and leaped into the jungle like growth of the forest. I found a couple hens hiding under logs on the ground. Black chickens are very hard to see in shady forest! Then I found feathers...aaagh! At least one had been killed. Had the magpies killed it or just scavenged the remains. I saw a fox in the yard the previous day and a bear had passed by the day before that. Lots of potential culprits but I still don’t know who was responsible.
Well I did not run across any more hens after walking my entire five acres and notifying the neighbors. So I went back to the coop to work on securing the fence. It’s now 7 feet high and the problem solved. Over the next 36 hours, 13 of the 15 escapees returned one by one to stand outside the fence and begged to be let back inside. They still made me chase them down to be caught and placed back inside the run. They were very happy to be reunited. The woods looked so inviting but it turned into a quick death and there was no grain out there. I think they quickly realized things were a lot better.in the coop than out in the woods. Definitely I realized that my woods are not ideal for free ranging and that’s they way it is.
